Category Archives: Fuiji Rock Festival

When we found out there was no Glastonbury 2018 we decided to take the Unfairground on tour. Having presented some of the sideshows in the Palace of Wonder (the late night spot at Fuji Rock) in 2012, when Glastonbury last rested the land, It seemed only natural to take the whole motley crew off to Naeba for 2018’s 20th anniversary of Fuji rock !

For our Japanese trip we recruited Unfairground favourites Ben Eine and Inkie on painting duties as well as Local legend Masagon and Myself. We packed Sam Haggerty’s sculptures into a shipping container or two and sent them off to Japan in May.

Pryratrix Circus Joined us to help entertain the crowds, with Born on road, Jagz Kooner and Jack from Children of acid providing the tunes for the weekend. In all a Uncrew of 50 headed off for the mountains of Naeba, taking a slice of site life to fields of Fuji rock.

Ben Eine mixes it up
Inkie’s kongee
Masagon went Dotty
And Dotty went freehand.
With the hottest weather on record, the Unfairground crew melted across the old Orange court. Thankfully The Typhoon that hit us Saturday night didn’t cause too much damage. We’d like to Thank Naeba and Yuzawa councils for inviting us, Smash go round for making it all happen and Bryan burton lewis for being so special. Thanks to all who came, threw some shapes and tagged us in those million photos that got taken! Thanks Guys it was real!

There’s no Glastonbury this year so the Unfairground family are off on a rock and roll holiday to Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba Japan.

Each day at the festival see’s each one of our glastonbury venues, The Acid house, The bangin’ Salon Carousel and Jagz Kooner’s Acid lounge take control of the music with the scene set with sculptures from the Unfairgrounds own Ringmaster Sam Haggerty .

This years artists will be painting huge stand alone walls built against the backdrop of the Naeba mountains. Both Ben Eine and Inkie will be joining the Dotmasters and our fave local guy Masagon!

With The Pyratrix Circus bringing the performance side of crazy to the field, the whole unfairground Uncrew fam up sticks to a far flung field in the mountains of Japan.

So first couple of days on site at Fuji Rock Festival and the site is taking shape. up in the mountains, its hot as hell, but we ain’t complaining. The hospitality is amazing, incredible sushi at squishy’s (i presume its a nick name), and hot geo thermal baths after every days work and i though i was at a festival, feels like a holiday camp! The sideshows are slowly taking shape and the collection of sideshows and attractions are going to work really well together. We even have a group of indian fakirs coming from india to eat light bulbs and generally amaze us with their feats of strength.

Tea time for the crew….none of that green stuff for our crew, someone brought a industrial box of yorkshire tea with them.

So been beavering away, making stuff for Fuji Rock festival and getting the show together for Tokyo on the 2nd of August. The shippers have just taken the canvases, the spray paints ordered and last minute prizes for the high strikers are being made. I wouldn’t of guessed that i would have traveled to japan for the first time with a fire bell and a large rubber mallet in my bags but that’s the life of a traveling showman for you. The above shot is the last frame in of a time lapse that Calum and Saft films helped make to promote the Show, should be posted online soon (hi res version here). Well thats almost it, got the last mad run around picking up the odds and sods for both the High Strikers and the show and then its on the plane, the next post will be from Japan, but here’s a sneak peek at some of the new work for the show in japan.

Finally all the pieces slotted into place this Thursday as the crew gathered down in Findon to load the mother of all shipping containers with the set for Fuji Rock Festival in late July. In a secret location deep in the woods the finishing touches were put of the Unfairgrounds sideshows which will accompany the Palace of Wonder outside the Festivals walls.The weeks painting finished with the tightest load ever seen, it was touch and go whether it would all fit, but with some pushing and shoving the last bits slotted into place.

So the deadline looms for all the sideshows to be loaded into the shipping container for its two month trip by sea to Japan. Standing at 4.9m ‘Knuckle Sandwich’ is the sister High Striker for last years 7.5m ‘Old Boney’. The steel framework is still to be attached to the painted facade as is the bell and mechanism. Its going to be a long hard week with the kids striker still to be finished. Fuji Rock her we come!

Loads happening this month. Works underway for two new High Strikers (test your strength machines) for Fuji Rock Festival in July….I know ages away, but the shipping container leaves mid May so better get a wiggle on. Above is the new Kids striker ‘Dancing Bones’ at 3m high it may be a little easier for our littlest hammer swingers to ring the bell. ‘The Knuckle Sandwich’ the sister to the 7.5m Old boney come in at a modest 5m. Hopefully you’ll see them all together at Glastonbury 2013, look out for the ‘Bone yard high strikers’ at a festival near you!